Get ready for .tel domain rush

Alastair Otter

Alastair Otter is a senior journalist at MyBroadband, and focuses on software and hardware. He has a particular love for Open Source Software (OSS)...

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In just under three weeks the new .tel top level domain will open for registrations. But Telnic, the registry operator for the new domain, says that all registrations will be treated as equal.

In statement yesterday the organisation said that it did not plan to auction off high-value or premium domain names, as is often the case with new domain releases. Instead, Telnic said applications would be treated equally and only a handful of "reserved" names would be held aside as required by ICANN.

"People need to understand that there are really great domain names available during Landrush and that everyone will have a fair and equal chance to register these names as they are all offered at a fixed price on a first-come, first-served basis, the fairest and most democratic selection method available," said Khashayar Mahdavi, Telnic’s CEO.

The registrar expects strong uptake for people’s names such as Bob.tel and Mary.tel, city names such as Johannesburg.tel, or business names such as Pizza.tel, Lawyer.tel.

Mahdavi says that .tel is more than just another domain. He says that it is a unique and valuable service that allows both individuals and businesses to store all of their contact information, keywords and location records directly in the DNS without the need for a website.

"The .tel is also very useful for search engine optimisation," said Henri Asseily, Telnic’s chief strategy officer. "Unlike all other domains, the .tel has very specific and unique content that is published directly in the DNS instead of the web. Google and other search engines will recognise this and index .tel content in addition to .com content."

Landrush registration begins at 3 pm GMT on Tuesday February 3 2009 and allows anyone to buy any .tel domain not previously registered during Sunrise. The Landrush period will last approximately two months.

.tel domain name discussion